Chaos (Embracing It and Beating It)

Gravity pulls objects to Earth and encourages water to move downhill to a place of rest. Plants grow up and out of the ground, seeking sunlight and following an unobstructed path. The food chain works in a top-down fashion, thinning populations of species in a way that is ultimately in harmony with its surroundings.

Humans, by comparison, add extra variables, upsetting that scale. Being the “intelligent” creatures we are, we inject our own priorities – no matter how virtuous – and get in the way of nature’s path to Balance. In other words, we add Chaos.

Ask any parent: just as the last toy gets put away, the kids come along and pull it all out into a giant heaping mess again. No intended harm there, but that act is the very definition of Human Chaos.

At its worst, Chaos prevents productivity: water pools in parking lots, plants are choked off by a lack of sunlight, and the household chores don’t get done.

So are we to just give up? No.

Organization and planning are our keys to battling Chaos. Take just five minutes at the end of your day – after the dishwasher is loaded and the kids are asleep, before you dive into that mindless TV show – to sit, rest, think and plan your path ahead.

Examine the minefield that is your daily life and figure out how you’ll be getting from where you are now to where you want to be. The discuss that with the people on your team: the co-workers, collaborators and family members, and decide how you’re going to accomplish it. We need to plan the goals and next steps if we are ever to make progress.

The price of not doing is standing still – and letting Chaos be our new reality.